


we make the best of what we've got (even though we know it'll never be enough)

by wildskyes



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Headcanon, just a cute little thought i had that collected dust in the back of my brain, so i thought i'd share
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-22 11:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3727741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildskyes/pseuds/wildskyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working miracles wasn’t exactly how one would label the method in which Skye provided meals for herself.</p><p>Thievery, freelance hacking, and sometimes even pretending to be a hobo. All that jizzy-jazz. The earnings were hardly a percentage of your average minimum wage. Much less a job, really, but it was enough. She had her van and the occasional abandoned cabin or warehouse somewhere on the road along the way to serve as the roof above her head. It was a start, a pretty damn decent one for the time being.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we make the best of what we've got (even though we know it'll never be enough)

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like these two's relationship goes a little too uncredited. of course, it isn't a surprise since they literally only had a small chunk of scenes together, but that gives it so much to work with. :') anyhow, please enjoy this humble one-shot! so if anyone decides to read this, tell me what you think, point me out on things, whatever. i'm new to this, and i don't really write stuff, so it'd help me out lots. cheers. x
> 
> tumblr me crazy @ wildskyes

Being an orphan was enlightening, you could say. She found lots of different ways that she could earn quick cash. Whether it strung along certain authorities thirsty to get their hands around her neck or something even worse, it wasn’t like she had much of a choice anyway.

And she sure as hell wasn’t going to back to another foster family. Why would she? They’d send her back anyway. Just like the rest. She was sick of it. Sick of having something and then losing it. All she really had to lose now was the keys to her van and her laptop and God knows she would rather die than to give up either.

Sunday night: December 23—exactly two days before Christmas and though it wasn’t Christmas Eve, it was still a day within the busiest weeks of the year. That guaranteed loads of distracted and desperate parents running around trying to decide what to spoil their kids with next. Most importantly, it was an open window opportunity for Skye to test her profound pickpocketing skills.

She never really found out how good she was at playing coy until she charmed her foster brother for his car keys. Now, it was her only shot at upgrading her laptop and possibly providing herself a hefty Christmas dinner.

Awash in a new dress and sparkling flats, she stood in front of a tall mirror in the ladies’ room of a store near the mall—vacated for the exception of her, of course. Her reflection stared back at her, mirroring her stillness and the rough, empty expression weighing on her face. It was funny how different she looked to herself in clothes that weren’t her usual tattered jeans or her gray cotton shirt and array of washed-out plaids.

Maybe it was more the makeup, but this definitely wasn’t a sight that she wanted to get used to.

Guilt-gripping thoughts made its way into her thoughts as she stared herself down, but she was able to usher herself into the crowd moments before she could convince herself that what she was doing was, well, what it exactly looked like to any decent person. She was pretty sure that this was definitely more legal than scrubbing firewalls and DDoSing some secret organization peoples’ computers. And it wasn’t like she was going to keep the wallets. She made sure to make visits to a few security stations to return the wallets—after she got what she needed, of course.

Before she knew it, she was finding all sorts of ways to bump into people. She got a few in a certain area and moved on to the next. Skye was good, but she was no David Avadon. The security men weren’t exactly the dumb, Simpsons-like idiots that she hoped they would be either. They were like eagles with their super 20/20 vision—it gave her the creeps.

Thankfully, it didn’t stop her from getting her job done. Her coat pockets were brimming with wallets hours later into her crime, all fat with lovely green U.S. dollars. There would’ve been more, but she ended up returning some that only held cards. Definitely didn’t need the headache that came with those stupid plastic things. She thought of settling with what she already had, but decided on a last minute bust so she could order fancy takeout.

A tall male with semi-wavy hair presented himself a few meters away from her. He was well-dressed, alone, and within walking distance. Her day was treating her quite fabulously. She smiled a little to herself as she made her way towards the pal, her walk as clumsy as she could make it as soon as she was close enough to him to make impact.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”

He stumbled forward from the push, but managed to stop his face from busting into the ground with his quick reflexes. She feigned shock and embarrassment and quickly tried to help him up. At the same time she slipped a hand into his pocket—his empty pocket, she should recall. The girl reddened. The job was supposed to be quick and easy to get out of, but that’s not exactly how it turned out.

Before she could retract her hand, he gripped it tightly and let out what sounded like an amused laugh. A confused look spread across her face. Her victims never really laughed before.

“I admit, you almost got me there, but then I felt this bulge in what was supposed to be an empty space.” The guy pulled her in front of him to get a better look, but it seemed that he didn’t need to see her face to recognize who she was.

As opposed to Skye, however, she nearly ripped her eyeballs from their sockets by how hard they rolled when she recognized him. “Oh, and imagine my surprise when I found out it wasn’t my dick.” Skye scoffed, but in truth, she was trying hard not to laugh. “Damn it, Miles.”

He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, a smug grin playing at his lips. “Hey beautiful.”

She tried to wiggle her way out, but failed and opted to hit him on his chest instead. “Don’t ‘hey’ me, butt face. You just totally ruined everything.”

Miles chuckled, his eyes crinkling from the gesture. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean. I mean, not everyone gets this lucky to run into a handsome guy. A handsome guy named Miles, might I add.” He leaned in for a kiss, to which she dodged as she quickly pulled herself back.

“That handsome guy also just happens to owe me dinner now.” She retorted bluntly whilst folding her arms across her chest. Clearly, she was in no mood to play games with an empty stomach.

Snorting in the slightest way, the male sighed and lolled his head back. “Were you stealing wallets again? Really? You know you could’ve just easily asked me and saved yourself the trouble, right? Oh, wait, of course you did, you just never want to listen.”

By the time he got midway into another one of his little speeches, Skye had moved herself out from his grasp and walked away. This was something she had heard enough of; she didn’t to hear it again, especially when she knew that he knew damn well she wasn’t going to comply anyway.

“Hey! God—Skye.” He groaned and ran a hand down his face, basking in his frustration with her endless strikes of fickleness before forcing himself to go after her.

She exhaled rather obnoxiously and shook her head. “I told you that I don’t need your help, Miles! A million times by now, probably, but I guess it’s pretty obvious that I didn’t make myself clear enough. Now, _please_ just stop asking and buzz off, would you?”

He extended a hand and caught her, forcing her to turn around to face him. “I’m not asking, Skye, I’m offering. See? Totally different from asking. And I thought that I made it pretty clear that I wasn’t taking no for an answer.” A rugged expression shrouded his features. He tried to smile, but it only made him look more exhausted.

“Look, I’m not trying to overcompensate for your kindness or anything--I can't, okay? You've done enough, so just—“ She cut him off with a roll of her eyes and a blatant remark. “Please, save yourself the trouble and kindly don’t.”

“I care for you, you stubborn idiot!” His voice rose a little at the end, rousing her up slightly. Guilt flashed in his eyes, and he ached to give her an apology, though he managed to hold it back in order to make a point. Make her feel more guilty, really.

“I’m not trying to offend you or point you out on any of your weaknesses, but I’m about the only thing you’ve got right now, and I’m not just going to let you get caught up in trouble again. You can _trust_ me. I’m not the Brody’s or whatever foster family that sent you away.” Skye shot him a pointed stare, her chest tightening from a dull ache. But he didn’t stop.

Somewhere between his talk, she fell in and out of reality, losing sight of everything else and instead receiving various images from her past right before her eyes. Memories of her at the doorsteps of her foster homes, with her racking up wind of dust as she stormed towards a car belonging to a Sister at St. Agnes. She quickly snapped them shut, her mouth only slightly ajar from registering the pain in the core of her chest.

“It’s their loss, but it’s my gain, and I’m not going to give you away.” Miles threw his hands up and shook his head. “I need you, Skye. Hell--, screw me, okay? It's fine, whatever, but the Rising Tide needs you—the people, need you. Remember? Don’t forget what you came to us for.”

Those next couple of words were enough to stop her dead in her tracks, sending a wave of emotions to course through her body. Her knees threatened to give out from beneath her.

She turned on her heels to face him with a softened expression—a sign of defeat of sorts. “You might wanna work on your confession, there, buddy.” Her voice came out a little shakier than intended, but it was enough to ensure that she relaxed a little and that she wasn’t going to go anywhere. At least, not for now. 

“At least you knew that it was. That’s good enough for me.” A lazy grin worked its way to his lips and prompted another easy laugh from him. He walked closer to her and pulled her close, firmer this time. It made her feel wanted enough for her not to pull away, in fact, it drove her to take control instead. She grabbed hold of his collar and crashed her lips against his, kissing him roughly yet passionately, feeling all sorts of things all at once as soon as she did.

Surprisingly, he was the first to pull away, causing her to arch a brow from the unexpected action. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” She grumbled and pushed him away before stalking off again, though this time, without so much bitter conviction. “I swear, you exist purely just to ruin moments.”

“You still owe dinner, by the way. And I’m feeling something that goes along the lines of fine dining.”

“Jeez, give a guy a break, honey. I just finished confessing to you.”

He caught up with her not long after and threw his arm around her shoulders, easing into a rather comical conversation with her as they walked aimlessly.

“No way, you asked for this and you’re getting it.”

“I take it back, I hate you.”

“Too late.”

Skye cracked a smile and sighed, relief coursing through her body meanwhile. Right then, she didn’t really think of anything. She was just glad to have him. Glad to be able to share a moment like that and coming out of it without so much as a scar on her little tainted heart.


End file.
